EPISODE 3

For a moment, Baek-Ya almost forgot how to breathe.

It was unbelievable. He couldn't believe he was a sunfish.

"Ah… so that's why the review said they were raising a sunfish…"

Was that perhaps a foreshadowing?

Baek-Ya flopped on the mattress. In his delirious mind, he had forgotten that he had five stitches in his palm.

"Aack!"

A stabbing pain radiated from his palm to his bones. He was in tears.

"A sunfish… I'm a sunfish!"

It was for sure at the start of this game. The status window first appeared at the snack bar. And it was then that the thing had appeared.

[All skills acquired while the window is blank are automatically equipped.]

In that case, perhaps… wouldn't it be possible to cancel it?

Baek-Ya, finding hope, quickly shouted to cancel it. It was humiliating, but also that much more urgent.

"Passive, off!"

The line, cried out like a heroine of a magical girl story, resonated loudly. However, the status window only made Baek-Ya feel insulted.

[The passive cannot be deactivated.]

"Uwaaaaang! I'm ruined! I'm totally ruined! You're insulting me!"

Baek-Ya, sprawling on the bedding, flapped around like a freshly caught fish.

The that needed to be activated, was inactive, and the couldn't even be turned off. There was no way out to be seen.

The system soon opened another window, perhaps feeling slightly sorry seeing his pitiful state.

▶ Skill Selection Draw (5 Times Available)

Precisely, it was the skill draw. The synchronization gift given at the start of the game. It was received along with the Genius Idol title.

"You're setting me on fire then giving me a bucket of water?! I won't…"

Baek-Ya cried out in a fit of rage.

Then, a sudden sense of uneasiness struck. If he remembers correctly, the five draws in front of him were a 'synchronization' gift.

When he thought about it, except for the fact that he went back to three years ago, everything was exactly the same as his situation in real life. As if they were synchronized.

'Holy shit.'

He had goosebumps all over his body.

'If I die here, even Baek-Ya in the real world might die.'

Once he came to think that far, he could not laugh at this game anymore.

"Okay. First, uh, umm. Should I proceed with the draw?"

It's okay. It was all seamless. Let's say that the Baek-Ya who shouted he wasn't going to do it, was just some other 'Baek-Ya'. Thinking about it, it wasn't like his sanity could be robbed even more here.

[How many Skill draws would you like to use?]

He was given five draws, and when asked how many he wanted to use, Baek-Ya exclaimed.

"Everything!"

And the results were devastating.

[Skill Acquired!]

[, , , , ]

He wanted to die.

Baek-Ya closed his eyes to the unsightly skill names.

He stayed like that for several minutes. Deciding it was time to accept reality, Baek-Ya opened his eyes again and faced the status window.

"Okay. The names sound filthy, but the abilities might be good."

Let's check them out one by one.

: Sometimes, it makes you wonder if you're even human.

//TN: The original (美쳤습니까 휴먼?) would be translated to "Are you crazy, human?" but in Korean, it was kind of a pun. 'Be crazy' in Korean is 'Michida' and for the 'Mi' syllable they used a hanja (Chinese character) for 'Beauty'.

: Increases your sexy and provocative abilities.

: Improved ticketing abilities.

: Enhances your presence.

: Your confidence rises when you look in the mirror.

The only thing that seemed to be salvageable was the appearance skill.

"I understand the 'How Insanely Beautiful Are You, Human' skill, but what's with the rest of the abilities?"

As soon as Baek-Ya finished talking to himself, the status window changed once more.

[Please select a skill to apply!]

▶ (Equipped)

▶

The first one was about the appearance. The second one seemed to be the talent category, seeing as there was no 'Equipped' sign.

If so, let's start with the appearance.

Rather than being handsome only when he removed his glasses, the latter was a better option! But surely, it wouldn't turn him into something like a robot, right…

Believing that it couldn't be that much of a shitty game, Baek-Ya selected . Fortunately, except for looking a little more handsome, nothing he worried about happened.

Baek-Ya unwittingly stroked his chest. He looked at the following options one by one.

'Don't need sexiness, don't need ticketing, having better presence seems to be good.'

In fact, even without that one, seemed to be enough to have him stand out. Still, it was better to stand out even more in order to survive in the crowd of trainees with many talents.

Having made up his mind, Baek-Ya moved his finger towards . But before he could even select it, got equipped.

"Huh? No. I didn't mean that but Me, It's Me…!"

[All but equipped skills will automatically disappear.]

"Hey, you damn bastard!"

Whoever said that this game was a shitty game of luck. That review should be turned into the game's introduction.

* * *

Last evening.

Baek-Ya told the truth to his sister while eating dinner. Ah, of course, it was about becoming a trainee.

"A trainee? Is that why you took off your glasses all of a sudden?"

"No, that was because I lost my glasses…"

"Do it if you want."

Right then, Baek-Ya was slightly flustered even when he was the one to bring it up.

"…Huh? Nuna, won't you be against it?"

"Why would I when this is the first time you're telling me you want to do something? Instead, tell me if it gets hard. I'll be against it then."

"That's great, brother-in-law! Does this mean I'm going to have a celebrity as a family member now?"

As a result, Baek-Ya, already on a weekend morning, went to ID Entertainment's office building.

'There's no time for dawdling.'

If his memory served right, it was eight years after AIM that ID would announce their next boy group. AIM was celebrating its 7th anniversary soon, so there was about a year left. It was the perfect time for a debut group to be formed.

Moreover, that sunfish passive was already activated. In other words, if he failed to join the debut group, it was highly likely that he would end up with a 'Debut Failed' bad ending.

* * *

"Baek-Ya-gun! Please, come in. I talked to your sister over the phone."

//TN: The suffix '-gun' is used to address someone formally. Usually used to address young boys or adults.

"Hello. My sister was busy, so I came here alone. But I did bring the stamp she mentioned."

He could have never guessed in his life that he would sign an exclusive contract for ID trainees. When he saw his sister's stamp next to his name and the word 'guardian', Baek-Ya felt a little strange.

"As I said before, this contract does not guarantee Han Baek-Ya-gun's debut. Still, the company is currently planning a boy group to follow AIM, and we are also considering finding a solo artist, so if you work hard, Baek-Ya-gun, you will definitely have a good chance."

"Yes. Please, take care of me."

The man, who was the head of the rookie development team, led Baek-Ya to the practice facility while wishing him well and hoping for a great relationship.

He followed the man to the second basement floor. When the elevator doors opened, he could feel the space heavily resonating.

It seemed that the entire floor had been turned into large and small dance practice rooms.

'As expected of ID.'

To have soundproofing like this. It was indeed the extraordinary power of money.

"There has been a long morning dance practice."

The man, looking back at Baek-Ya, slightly smiled and then knocked on the door of the practice room.

"Excuse me, I'll come in just for a minute."

The music stopped as the door opened, leaking out the rush of heat and the sounds of breathing. Baek-Ya, following behind, lowered his head as the gazes fell on him.

He felt a bit shy.

"Team leader, what brings you here? I heard the rookie development team has been swamped because of the debut group."

"We are swamped. But what can I do when the person with the most time to spare has to move? We can't lose this talent to another company."

The man replied and led Baek-Ya forward. The choreographer looked back and forth between the two with interest.

"Could this friend be… him?"

"Yes, that's right. He is the new trainee who will be with ID starting today."

At the team leader's introduction, Baek-Ya quickly bowed and greeted everyone.

"Hello. I am Han Baek-Ya. I look forward to your kind cooperation."

A lukewarm applause erupted here and there. It was a 'Welcome to Hell' kind of applause and a subtle check against the competitor.

However, before he could pay attention, the status window appeared before Baek-Ya's eyes.

[A new (hidden) quest has arrived!]

[Q. The Road of the Practice Bug (1) : Complete your first dance practice]

It was a hidden quest that was only active inside the practice room.

And the results.

[ Completed!]

[Level Up! Lv.2 → Lv.3]

[Quest Reward Granted: 1 Star Point]

[Level Up Reward Granted: 1 Star Point]

The quest was a success. Though, the process was one of despair.

"Then let's take a look at our new friend's skills. Your name was Baek-Ya, right? Baek-Ya-gun, did you know that you're the fastest to pass the audition for our company?"

"…Me?"

Baek-Ya was bewildered. It was the fact that he auditioned on the same day he was cast by chance and was told on the spot that he was accepted.

'Is everyone here not like that…?'

Baek-Ya glanced at the group of trainees reflected in the mirror. He could see some of them exchanging glances at the choreographer's words.

'Mm. They clearly seem to be keeping me in check.'

However, that atmosphere did not last for long.

"Puhah! Your dancing is very, honest."

Because as soon as the song came out, the Courting Dance skill was activated.

Even the trainees who were keeping him in check put their guards down after seeing his skills displayed. Compared to their gazes a moment ago, they were now no different from gentle sheep.

Regardless, Baek-Ya (Sunfish/18) was wounded as he collapsed from this sense of shame. And he decided.

'I'm going to use all the Star Points accumulated so far.'

As he came to know of it by chance, it was possible to draw a skill once with 1 Star Point.

Currently, Baek-Ya had 5 Star Points.

'I'll become a great dancer at all costs.'

He will definitely become so awesome that everyone who laughed at him today would be blown away.

Baek-Ya returned home with the aspiration to draw a dance skill no matter what. And he used four points to spin the lottery. In case of unforeseen circumstances, he kept one point in reserve.

As a result.

[Skill Acquired!]

[, , , ]

It was all C.

'At first glance, they seem to be dance-related skills, but…'

He didn't need to read the description to know. The fact that a C-grade would not be much different from the Courting Dance.

"This damn shitty game…!"